Writers love ‘Simpsons,’ ‘Office’

WGA nominates favorites for TV awards

Fox’s “The Simpsons” took four nominations while NBC’s “The Office” received three for TV awards from the Writers Guild of America.

Two new NBC skeins — “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” and “30 Rock” — took a pair of noms each, as did ABC’s “Lost.” And “30 Rock” was the only new series to be recognized among the 10 nominees in the drama and series categories.

NBC shows drew 13 TV nominations to tie with PBS, which went 10 for 10 in two documentary categories. ABC brought in nine, followed by eight for Fox and seven for HBO.

The WGA unveiled its nominations, selected by guild committees, on Wednesday. Winners will be chosen based on voting by all 13,000 eligible guild members and announced at the WGA Awards on Feb. 11, with simultaneous ceremonies in Los Angeles and New York.

“The Simpsons” took all but two of the mentions in the animated category, with the others going to Cartoon Network’s “Who’s Your Daddy” and Fox’s “King of the Hill.” “The Simpsons” drew all six nominations last year.

“The Office” received a nom for top comedy series, along with NBC’s “30 Rock,” Fox’s “Arrested Development,” HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and HBO’s “Entourage.” Larry David — listed as the only writer on “Curb” — won the 2006 trophy.

The nom’s a final shot at glory for “Arrested Development,” which was canceled last spring. The skein also received a PGA nod last week.

“The Office” received a pair of noms for single comedy episode, as did ABC’s “Desperate Housewives,” while Fox’s “Malcolm in the Middle” and NBC’s “My Name Is Earl” took one each. The pilot of Showtime’s “Weeds” won the inaugural award in 2006.

Drama series noms went to Fox’s “24,” HBO’s “Deadwood” and “The Sopranos” and ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Lost,” “Lost” won the 2006 award.

Drama episode nominations went to “Lost,” NBC’s “The West Wing,” Sci Fi’s “Battlestar Gallactica,” TNT’s “Nightmares and Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King,” NBC’s pilot for “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” and HBO’s pilot for “Big Love.” Fox’s “House” won the inaugural award this year.

Four of five new series noms went to NBC shows: “Studio 60,” “30 Rock,” “Friday Night Lights” and “Heroes”; ABC’s “Ugly Betty” drew the other nom. “Grey’s Anatomy” took this year’s trophy.

The longform original series category produced only three nominations, underscoring how broadcast nets have cut back in this area. Noms went to AMC’s “Broken Trail,” A&E’s “Flight 93″ and TNT’s “The Ron Clark Story.”

No noms were announced in the longform adapted category. The 2006 award went to HBO’s “The Life and Death of Peter Sellers.”

Comedy/variety series noms overlooked both CBS’ “Late Show With David Letterman” and NBC’s “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno.” Mentions went to Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart,” NBC’s “Late Night With Conan O’Brien,” Showtime’s “Penn & Teller: Bullshit!,” HBO’s “Real Time With Bill Maher” and NBC’s “Saturday Night Live.” “Late Night With Conan O’Brien” won the 2006 trophy.

In the comedy/variety — music, awards, tributes category, noms went to PBS’ “The National Memorial Day Concert,” CBS’ “The 60th Annual Tony Awards” and HBO’s “Assume the Position With Mr. Wuhl.”

CBS went three-for-four in daytime serials with “As the World Turns,” “The Young and the Restless” and “Guiding Light”; ABC’s “All My Children” drew the fourth nom. “Y&R” took this year’s kudos.

Children’s noms went to Disney Channel’s “Phil of the Future” and “That’s So Raven,” Nick’s “Just for Kicks,” Discovery Kids’ “29 Down” and PBS’ “Reading Rainbow.”

PBS took all five noms in documentary — current events category, with “Age of AIDS: Part I,” “Can You Afford to Retire?,” “The Dark Side,” “The Meth Epidemic” and “The Storm.” Net also took all noms for documentary — other than current events, with “Marie Antoinette” and four episodes of “The American Experience”: “The Alaska Pipeline,” “The Boy in the Bubble,” “Eugene O’Neill” and “John and Abigail Adams.”

In the news categories, CBS took two noms for regularly scheduled, bulletin or breaking report, with “Hurricane Katrina: One-Year Anniversary” and “Remembering Lou Rawls”; ABC’s “World News Tonight” also was recognized. The Eye also took a nom in analysis, feature or commentary for “60 Minutes” seg “Addicted to Heroin” along with PBS’ “Disaster Mismanagement” and ABC’s “Memorial Day: One Family Remembers.”